Iowa Rep. Steve King, a Republican, on
Thursday told a crowd in Iowa that the Supreme Court's ruling
striking down gay marriage bans in all 50 states means “you can
marry my lawnmower.”

King, a vocal opponent of LGBT rights,
made the comment in the course of introducing Republican presidential
candidate Mike Huckabee.

King is also quoted making the remark
in a July 7 article in an Iowa newspaper.

“I had a strong, Christian lawyer
tell me yesterday that, under this decision that he has read, what it
brings about is: It only requires one human being in this
relationship – that you could marry your lawnmower with this
decision. I think he's right,” King told the Dickinson
County News.

In that same interview, King also
lamented the 2009 Iowa Supreme Court decision that brought marriage
equality to the Midwest, saying it was a “heavy blow to us here in
Iowa.”

King said that if the states do not
reject the Supreme Court's ruling, “then our next alternative is to
go into the states, state by state, and simply abolish civil
marriage.”